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Markiplier named world’s most influential gamer

Mark “Markiplier” Fischback is the top gaming influencer in the world, according to a report released today by Forbes.

Markiplier, a Hawaiian-born YouTuber whose videos have racked up more than 7 billion views and who has raised more than a million dollars in donations for charity, topped a list that includes PewDiePie, OMGItfirefoxx and JackSepticEye.

The Business of Influence is in its second season of lists, videos and breakdowns of global influencers in a variety of categories. This month’s Forbes list includes entertainment and travel alongside gaming.

“These social media power players have managed to monetize not just existing platforms like Instagram and YouTube, but in many cases emerging apps and sites like Musical.ly and Twitch,” Forbes staff writer Clare O’Connor, who oversees the top influencers franchise, said in a prepared release. “They’re landing production deals based on their prowess on Vine, the now-defunct video app that forced users to be super creative, with only seconds to make an impact. In some cases, these folks can command seven figures per sponsored campaign.”

To create the list, Forbes partnered with influencer analytics firm Traackr to measure reach, or audience size; resonance, or propensity for virality; and relevance, or engagement related to their area of expertise.

The publication then teamed up with social insight platform Captiv8 to weight each candidate’s potential for earnings per post based on the size of their following.

Finally, Forbes reviewed each candidate’s endorsements and other businesses generated offline, like product lines and book deals.

While the methodology seems sound, there are a few major caveats which may have overlooked some big names, or impacted the rankings.

For instance, Forbes only included influencers who made it big by building up their fame from the internet up were included, rather than celebrities who also happen to have large audiences online. It also only counted those who create original content. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Forbes limited its scope to influencers who mostly post in English.

The next Forbes global list will launch in September, examining fashion, comedy and parenting.

The ordered rankings are below for gaming. You can also check out the season two kick-off videos for the lists, which includes interviews with KingGothalion, lolRenaynay, Ellohime, and iJustine, over on the site.